Gastrin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate regulate the human histidine decarboxylase promoter through Raf-dependent activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-related signaling pathways in gastric cancer cells.

Gastrin stimulates transcription of the human histidine decarboxylase (HDC) gene through binding to the G-protein-coupled cholecystokinin-B/gastrin receptor. We have explored the possibility that mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades play a role in mediating the effects of gastrin on transcription in a gastric cancer (AGS-B) cell line. Gastrin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment of AGS-B cells was found to increase the phosphorylation of tyrosine residues of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) 1 and 2 and increase ERK activity as determined by the in vitro phosphorylation of myelin basic protein. Reporter gene assays also demonstrated that gastrin and PMA stimulated Elk-1- and c-Myc-dependent transactivation, consistent with gastrin- and PMA-induced activation of ERKs. Overexpression of wild type ERK-1 and ERK-2 or activation of endogenous ERKs using activated MEK-1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase or ERK kinase) overexpression stimulated HDC promoter activity in a dose-dependent fashion. Interruption of the ERK-related pathway using expression vectors for kinase-deficient ERKs or an ERK-specific phosphatase (PAC-1) blocked gastrin- and PMA-stimulated HDC promoter activity. In contrast, inhibition of the Jun kinase pathway using an interfering dominant negative SEK-1 (stress-activated protein kinase/ERK-1) mutant did not inhibit HDC promoter activity. Furthermore, whereas gastrin stimulated phosphorylation of Shc proteins and association with Grb2, activation of the HDC promoter was not influenced by expression of dominant negative Ras (N15 or N17) proteins. However, gastrin stimulated Raf-1 kinase activity, and activation of the HDC promoter was blocked by coexpression of a dominant negative Raf-1 construct. Overall, these data demonstrate that gastrin regulates HDC transcription in a Rafdependent, Ras-independent fashion predominantly through activation of the ERK-related pathway.